


teach me the courage of the stars (your light carries endlessly, even in death)

by Eternal_Peace_is_Overrated



Series: cold bones (that's my love) [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys In Love, David "Dave" Katz Lives, Fluff, Ghost Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, Good Sibling Number Five | The Boy, Happy Ending, Klaus Hargreeves & David "Dave" Katz During Vietnam, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, Light Angst, M/M, Modern David "Dave" Katz, No Apocalypse, No Incest, Non-Graphic Smut, Post-Canon Fix-It, Romance, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Softie David "Dave" Katz, The Hargreeves are Good Siblings, Time Travel Fix-It, Veteran Klaus Hargreeves, it's mentioned - Freeform, kind of, upset I have to tag that at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:01:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26578741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternal_Peace_is_Overrated/pseuds/Eternal_Peace_is_Overrated
Summary: Wherein Klaus finally gets his happy ending.***Klaus remembers the first time he met Dave.He remembers fear closing off his airway; he remembers the harsh rattle of gunfire, the ground trembling with the force of nearby explosives, the throbbing ache that clung to his very bones.He remembers the confusion and the panic as he was shouted at, dazed and hurting, until a pair of pants was shoved into his hands and a helmet onto his head; he remembers hours of trekking through damp, hot rainforest in pitch darkness, clutching that stupid fucking briefcase to his chest.He remembers the second time he met him, too, or maybe just the official time.He remembers clear blue eyes and freckles dotting sun-kissed cheeks; he remembers golden curls plastered against sweat soaked skin, and a warm hand settling firmly in his own, and he remembers “shit’s crazy, I know. Don’t worry, you’ll adjust.”He remembers a warm, genuine smile, and the way Dave’s hand lingered just a little too long in his own.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: cold bones (that's my love) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931503
Comments: 16
Kudos: 344





	teach me the courage of the stars (your light carries endlessly, even in death)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! 
> 
> This one was quite fun to write! Don't worry, this isn't the last of them, either; I enjoy writing them too much and do have plans to write more in this series in the (hopefully near) future. 
> 
> I was really happy with how this turned out, and hope you all are too!
> 
> If there are any mistakes, I apologize. I finally finished this baby around 5 in the morning; I don't know if my brain is working properly anymore. 
> 
> Please drop a kudos or comment on the way out, and thank you for reading!
> 
> (Title from the song Saturn by Sleeping At Last)

Klaus remembers the first time he met Dave. 

He remembers fear closing off his airway; he remembers the harsh rattle of gunfire, the ground trembling with the force of nearby explosives, the throbbing ache that clung to his very bones. 

He remembers the confusion and the panic as he was shouted at, dazed and hurting, until a pair of pants was shoved into his hands and a helmet onto his head; he remembers hours of trekking through damp, hot rainforest in pitch darkness, clutching that stupid fucking briefcase to his chest. 

He remembers the second time he met him, too, or maybe just the _official_ time. 

He remembers clear blue eyes and freckles dotting sun-kissed cheeks; he remembers golden curls plastered against sweat soaked skin, and a warm hand settling firmly in his own, and he remembers _“shit’s crazy, I know. Don’t worry, you’ll adjust.”_

He remembers a warm, genuine smile, and the way Dave’s hand lingered just a little too long in his own. 

But mostly, he remembers _The Moment_. 

He remembers staring at the beautiful man in front of him with the pretty smile and the kind eyes and the strong hands, and he remembers thinking _this could be something_. 

Klaus remembers, because that was when he decided to stay. 

It was stupid and it was impulsive and it was quite possibly the worst decision he’d ever made (the best, it was the _best_ decision he’d ever made). 

It’s five in the morning, and Klaus remembers.

 _(he remembers sweat slicked skin and hands in his hair, framing his face; he remembers lips trailing gentle kisses along his throat, his cheeks, his nose, until they found his own; he remembers the way Dave fit perfectly between his thighs, thrusts slow and deep and gentle; he remembers tears on his face and the pads of Dave’s thumbs gently brushing them away; he remembers because it’s the first time Klaus said “i love you” and Dave had whispered it back, awe struck and happy; Klaus remembers because he’s never_ made love _to someone before, because Dave has been a lot of his firsts)_

It’s five in the morning, and Klaus is sitting alone at the kitchen table, cradling a warm mug of tea in both hands, trying to chase away the chill of his latest nightmare. 

He’s got the sleeves of one of Luther’s (huge) sweaters pulled up to his fingertips, and he’s wearing his favorite slippers, Dave’s dog tags brushing gently against his chest with every breath, but he’s still cold. 

He’s always cold, these days. 

Sometimes, it’s easy to ignore. 

Sometimes, when Five absently reaches out and squeezes his hand or ruffles his hair or calls him _“kiddo_ ”(they’ve gotten better about the touching- Klaus isn’t afraid to ask if he needs a hug, and Five isn’t afraid to initiate it when he needs to remind himself that his siblings are there and _alive_ ), Klaus feels warmth rush into his chest. Sometimes, when Luther brings him his favorite doughnut from Griddy’s, or Allison helps him paint his nails, or Diego offers to drive him to NA, or Vanya shyly asks him if he’d like to listen to her play her violin, it’ll feel like some sort of weight has just been pulled off his chest; like, just for a moment, he can breathe. 

Sometimes, though, he feels like he’s drowning. 

Days like today (the ones where he feels like he’s trying to drag himself through quicksand, like everything's underwater; when every breath hurts and his head is full of cotton) are slowly but surely getting fewer and farther between. 

He’s getting better. 

But. 

But he and Five talked about saving Dave _weeks_ ago, and Five hasn’t said a word of it since (part of Klaus is afraid Five has changed his mind- he knows how serious Five is about not mucking up the timeline). 

Sighing, Klaus closes his eyes and settles his elbows on the table, resting his forehead against the side of his mug, letting the heat settle into his bones.

“You okay?”

Ben’s voice is soft, and when Klaus opens his eyes, he sees his brother sitting cross-legged on the table in front of him, watching him with open concern. 

“Peachy, dear brother, just peachy,” Klaus murmurs, bringing his mug to his lips and taking a drink, sighing contentedly at the rich peppermint flavor. 

“Really.” There’s no inflection in Ben’s voice, just a general air of disbelief, and Klaus huffs softly, glaring half heartedly at him. 

“Yes, _really_ ,” he bites out when Ben continues staring at him, one eyebrow raised. “Okay,” Klaus concedes. “Maybe not currently, but I _will_ be. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

“Sure,” Ben agrees. “But I didn’t ask if you _would be_ okay. I asked if you _are_.” 

“Well, no,” Klaus slumps. “I’m not. But. It just happens sometimes, Benny boy.” He shrugs. “You know that, I know that; there’s not a lot to do about it but wait for it to pass.” 

“ _Or_ ,” Ben stresses. “You could go talk to Five. You’ve been putting it off, Klaus; you’re not going to feel better until you do.” 

“It’s five in the morning, Ben, I’m not going to go-”

“-we both know he’s not asleep, Klaus, he’s even worse about that than you are-”

“-barge into his bedroom and say ‘hey, Fivey, did you _lie_ to me before’-”

“-well I wouldn’t say it like _that_ -”

“-I don’t know how else I should say it, Ben-”

“Did I lie about what?”

Both Klaus and Ben freeze and turn slowly to peer at the figure in the doorway. 

Five is giving them a deeply unimpressed stare, and even Ben shrinks under it despite Five _not being able to actually see him_. 

“Nothing,” Klaus says quickly. 

“ _Liar_ ,” Ben grumbles, and Klaus hisses at him. 

“Drop dead.” 

“Low blow, dude.” 

Five just stares at Klaus some more, folding his arms over his chest, though the effect is somewhat ruined by the birds nest that is his hair and the _Lightning McQueen_ pajama pants he’s wearing (courtesy of Klaus, obviously; Five pretends to hate them, but they’re made out of _deadly_ soft fabric and by far the most comfortable things in probably the whole house). 

“I- okay,” Klaus caves. “It’s just- you remember what we talked about? It was- a couple of months ago, I think. Month and a half maybe? I don’t know. But you said-”

“That I could go back in time, yes,” Five nods impatiently. 

“Right, right, that,” Klaus continues, fidgeting with the string of the teabag. “And I was just- I wanted to know if that was still, y’know, _mission a go_.” 

Five purses his lips, looking constipated, before sighing deeply and murmuring, “I suppose I’ve put it off for long enough, hm?”

“I- well, yes, maybe, I don’t know-”

“Come with me.” Five waves him forward impatiently, complete with the foot tapping and everything. 

Klaus watches his little big brother cautiously but nods and follows him along, clutching the mug to his chest, eyeing Five warily as he leads them into the elevator and pushes the button for the bottom floor (the basement level, where they had discovered Vanya’s stupid cage- they’d taken care of it with sledgehammers. It had been cathartic). 

“Five,” Klaus says hesitantly. “I mean, I totally understand if you’re taking me to the basement to murder me, but like, could you do it somewhere less dark, maybe?”

Five snorts out a laugh. “I’m not taking you down here to murder you, Klaus, though I’ll admit to being a bit concerned if that’s your reaction to potentially being murdered.” 

Klaus lets out a nervous little giggle. “Yeah, yeah. Uh, me too, to be honest.” 

“I didn’t expect anything less,” Ben pipes up, suddenly beside him, and Klaus startles, splashing tea all over his hands. 

“Jesus, Ben, what the fuck?”

Ben just looks at him unapologetically. “Everyone else is still asleep.” 

“Oh, well, if that’s the case then it’s _totally_ okay to give me a heart attack. Because you’re bored.” 

Ben ignores him, peering around curiously once the doors slide open. “I haven’t been down here since we destroyed the cage.” He steps closer, staring out into the darkness, eyes finding the single lightsource at the very end of the hallway. “Okay, yeah, no, I’m out.” 

And then Ben is gone, and _Klaus_ is the one staring into the dark, squinting to see the window?- the little window that’s in the door at the end of the hallway (the door that _definitely_ wasn’t there when Klaus was down here last; did Five build a secret lab?)

“For the record,” Klaus states as he follows Five down the hallway. “I still think I’m being murdered.” 

“For god's sake, Klaus, you’re not being murdered.” Five stops in front of the door, preventing Klaus from peering in the window. “Before you go in, I want to remind you that this is _not_ a dream, he _is_ real, he is _not_ a ghost, and I _will_ explain.” 

Klaus is frozen, now, staring at Five, hope swelling in his chest at the implications. With shaky hands, he carefully folds Five’s hands around his mug before moving him out of the way. 

Heart beating rapidly against his ribcage, Klaus held his breath and pushed the door open, stepping inside, squinting slightly against the sudden bright white of the room, gaze quickly moving around the room, eyes skipping past various medical supplies and equipment, until they settled on-

Klaus’s next breath froze on an inhale, tears springing to his eyes.

“ _Dave_.” 

He’s- he’s _beautiful_ , and he’s there and he’s breathing, staring at Klaus with wide, watery eyes and Klaus doesn’t even hesitate, throwing himself into his strong arms, knowing without a doubt that Dave will catch him. 

Klaus doesn’t even realize he’s crying, sobbing really, until Dave’s guided Klaus’s face into his neck and is murmuring softly, “Shh, shh, darlin’, you’re alright, don’t cry, don’t cry…”

“You’re- Dave, you’re _here_ -” Klaus chokes out, clinging tightly to him, revelling in the familiar strength and the warmth and the _realness_ of the arms around him. 

“I’m here, darlin’, and I’m not going _anywhere_ , not ever. You have me, I’m yours, I’m _so_ sorry I was gone for so long, but you have me now, okay, Klaus? I'm here and I’m yours,” Dave whispers into his hair, and Klaus lets out a watery laugh. 

“You’re here and you’re mine,” Klaus repeats, finally pulling back enough to look him in the face, just taking him in (those eyes, _god_ , those eyes; Klaus could get lost in them). 

Carefully, Klaus brings his hands up, fingertips trailing gently over Dave’s face, tracing delicately along his cheekbones, his nose, the line of his jaw, until finally he cups Dave’s face and _kisses_ him, soft and gentle and desperate, and Dave kisses him back like he’s been drowning, too, and Klaus is the first breath of fresh air (Klaus knows the feeling, except he’s been drowning for so long he didn’t even remember what fresh air _was_ until now). 

When they finally break apart, it’s only far enough for Klaus to rest his forehead against Dave’s, breathing with him, hands running along Dave’s ribs, his shoulders, his back- anywhere, really, that he can feel warm skin beneath his fingertips ( _here, here, he’s here, he’s home_ , his heart is singing, and he can’t be bothered to shut it up). 

“I love you,” Klaus whispers. “I love you, and I’m going to say it every day,” (because he never knows what day will be the last day, and that’s not a regret he’s going to have again). 

“I love you too, Klaus. Fuck, I love you _so much_ ,” Dave murmurs, holding him tighter, voice just as soft and awed as it always used to be, like he can’t believe it’s possible to love someone this much (Klaus understands that, too). 

“Thank you for this,” Dave says, and it takes a moment before Klaus’s mind catches him; he turns himself in Dave’s arms, back against his chest, to face Five, whose lingering in the doorway and looking awkward as fuck, staring anywhere that isn’t them. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Five dissmisses. “It’s well within my capabilities. It’s nothing, don’t worry-” 

And that- that simply _will not_ do.

“It’s not _nothing_ ,” Klaus says vehemently, and Five looks surprised at the ferocity of his reaction. “It’s- Five, it’s _everything_ . This is everything; you’ve given me _everything_ . Thank you. Seriously, FIve, _thank you_ .” Tears are in his eyes again and he hastily swipes them away. “Don’t you _dare_ try to minimize what you did for me.”

Five stares at him for a moment before swallowing and nodding. “I won’t. I’m not.” He pauses, says instead. “I’ll try not to.”

And that- that will have to be good enough, for now, because Five looks like he wants to turtle into his sweatshirt. 

“Okay,” Klaus says. “Okay. Can- can he…” He motions towards Dave, and then towards the door. 

Five glances between the two of them for a moment before nodding. 

“Yes, he can. _If_ ,” Five stresses. “There is absolutely _no_ strenuous activity. He still needs his rest.” 

Klaus gasps, throws a hand over his heart. “ _Me?_ Strenuous activity with my recently un-deceased boyfriend? _Never_.” 

“Klaus, I’m serious-” 

“I know! I know.” And then Klaus sighs, gets more serious because he _does_ know, he understands; Dave might’ve had a few weeks here to heal, but he took a bullet to the _chest_. It’s going to take more than a few weeks to heal fully from something like that; honestly, sex hadn’t even crossed his mind. All he wants, right now, is to fall asleep in his boyfriend’s arms. That’s all. 

Five eyes him for a moment before his gaze softens and he nods. 

“Okay then. Straight to bed; if anything happens, you can come to Grace or I, okay?” 

Klaus smiles, tangles his fingers with Dave’s and leads him towards the elevator, chest swelling happily when Dave squeezes his hand gently. 

He pauses as they go to pass Five, letting go of Dave’s hand just long enough to wrap Five up in a tight hug, whispering, “Seriously, Five, thank you. I…”

And Five doesn’t push; he knows Klaus well enough by now to not need to. “I know, Klaus. You’re welcome, and I love you too.” 

Klaus just shoots him a watery smile and then turns back to Dave, who’s watching him with such softness (Dave is the only one who’s looked at him like that, like he’s something precious, like he’s someone that deserves to be loved unconditionally), and then leads him up to his bedroom, pulling him into bed and curling up beneath a pile of soft blankets with him. 

Klaus remembers the first time he met Dave. 

He remembers the fear and the confusion and the chaos. 

He remembers how imperfect it was, how scary it was to know he’d found _his person_ in the middle of one of the bloodiest wars in history. 

He remembers thinking how unfair it was, having to travel halfway across the world and back fifty years to find someone who he loved and who loved him.

He remembers a moment just like this, fifty years back, curled up under scratchy blankets in a shady motel that charged by the hour and didn’t ask any questions, and he remembers thinking-

Oh.

_Oh._

_It’s you._

_You’re who I’ve been waiting for_. 

He tilts his head up, meets Dave’s eyes. 

“It’s you, you know,” Klaus whispers. 

“What’s me?” Dave asks, voice sleepy, eyes soft and warm. 

“You’re the one I’ve been waiting for, I think.” 

“Oh,” Dave nods, and says like it’s obvious. “I know. You’re the one I’ve been waiting for too, Klaus.” 

Klaus smiles, presses a kiss to the corner of Dave’s lips and then tucks his face down into his neck, tangling their legs together, curling close until there’s not even an inch of space between them, and for the first time in a long, _long_ time, Klaus is warm.


End file.
